A while ago, a friend posted a link to the blog of someone I went to school with years ago. He had cystic fibrosis, and his mother had a brain tumor. The blog, at the time I subscribed, detailed their health battles and steadfast faith. Both died during the month of November, and I grieve for the young man's widow, and for his sister and her husband.

The young man's funeral video was posted online. I had known the sister's husband in college, so I paid special attention when he spoke. He related athletic competitions he had had with his brother-in-law, and then his voice started breaking when he tried to move on to the crux of his narrative. I had a trained urge to pause the video to let it load...then realized that such an action would have no impact on the sound quality.

You don't get to pause grief, let things load, then go on without breakage. Voices break. Hearts break. You just listen through it...and deal.